DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton softball team (21-10, 6-1 A-10) took the first two games of a three-game Atlantic 10 Conference series from the Rhode Island Rams (1-17, 0-4 A-10) on Saturday afternoon at the UD Softball Stadium.  The Flyers are now a perfect 7-0 at home this season.
 
Game One: Dayton 8, Rhode Island 0 (5 innings)
 
Senior Kayla English went the distance and tied her career high with 11 strikeouts and  only yielded three hits.  She earned her 10th win of the season, and her fifth win in a row.  Her ERA is down to a season-low 1.73
 
The Flyers got the scoring started in the first with three runs. The first run came on a URI wild pitch, followed by a two-run RBI double from freshman Kayla Haberstich.  Dayton extended the lead in the third on a fielders choice RBI from junior Kennedy Haynes.
 
Dayton got three more in the fourth on a sophomore Gabrielle Snyder RBI double, a double steal that scored senior Tiffany Ricks, and another Haberstich RBI single.
 
The Flyers finished up the game in the fifth inning with a Snyder RBI single to take the 8-0 lead and wrap the game up in the fifth.
 
As a team, Dayton finished with 12 hits.  Snyder and Haberstich lead the team with three hits each, while senior Natalie Mariano and sophomore Hannah DeSalvo had two hits each.
 
With the win the Flyers reached the 20-victory plateau for the fifth season in a row.  It is the sixth time head coach Cara LaPlaca has reached this milestone in her time at UD.
 
Game Two: Dayton 12, Rhode Island 1 (5 innings)
 
Dayton got out to a fast start again in the second game scoring four runs in the first inning.  Ricks, Snyder and Haberstich all had RBI in the inning, while the fourth was scored on a double steal that scored Ricks.
 
The Rams would come back with a run in the top of the second on an infield single.  Dayton would answer right back with a solo home run from Mariano.  It was her team-high fifth of the season. 
 
They added to the lead in the third with a three-run inning with RBI from Haynes on two-run double and an RBI single from Mariano.
 
The Flyers put the game away in the fourth with another four-run inning.  Ricks got it started with a solo homerun to deep centerfield to tie the team-high for homeruns.  Freshman Kailee Budicin went back-to-back with her first career homerun. 
 
Dayton got two more on back-to-back doubles with Haberstich getting the RBI.  They would add the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly from freshman Jaclyn Kweder.
 
Freshman Manda Cash went the distance for UD earning her sixth win on the season.  She struck out three and did not walk anyone.
 
As a team UD racked up 15 hits.  Mariano led the team with three hits, while Snyder, Ricks, Budicin and DeSalvo all had two-hit games.
 
The Flyers wrap up the three-game weekend set against Rhode Island tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for noon.  The Easter egg hunt will start at approximately 11:30 a.m. before the game.